1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for document synchronizing, and especially to a system and method for synchronizing distributed unstructured documents stored in a plurality of sub-nodes. This application relates to a contemporaneously filed application titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SYNCHRONIZING FILES IN MULTIPLE NODES” having the same assignee and partially the same inventors with the invention.
2. Background of the Invention
Globalized economic development has spawned and nurtured many multinational companies. Numerous multinational companies comprise a variety of departments distributed all over the world. Typically, a variety of information must be shared between the departments. Data management and information sharing have already become pivotal in running a multinational company efficiently. With the rapid development of electronic information technology, it has become commonplace for departments to access data and cooperate with each other over vast distances. Today, distributed database management systems are employed to enhance the efficiency of data access and to reduce error.
A distributed database management system has data stored in a variety of distributed physical locations, but with universal logical. Users can access data stored in a remote storage as data stored in a local storage. PRC Patent No. 00808249.9 discloses a system and method for managing documents in a distributed environment. In this invention, a document controller is used in a client computer to manage documents stored in a local storage, and to control exchange of information through a network. The document controller generates a meta-index to note locations of all documents. When a user accesses a document, the client computer obtains the location of the document, copies the document to the local storage, and modifies the meta-index.
The problems of synchronizing updating of documents and of over-processing in some client computers are resolved by this invention. But other problems are manifest. For example, data are repeatedly stored in the client computers, the sync process is prone to incur steep online fees, and adding client computers to the system is problematic.